http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/ Welcome to our blog. We are professors of management (and NASCAR fans) who teach a course on the business of NASCAR at Virginia Commonwealth University. We will post regularly on the business issues of NASCAR during the season and will include posts from our students. We invite comments. Dr. Jon Ackley and Dr. Michael Pitts en Copyright 2009 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:46:32 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.25 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss With declining numbers of attendance and TV viewership, NASCAR is making some very needed changes. The controversial COT, or better known as car of tomorrow, had been a cause of decline. Fans did not like the fact that all the... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/a_change_for_the_better.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/a_change_for_the_better.html Car of Tomorrow Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:46:32 -0500 Many NASCAR fans are unhappy with the current format of the Chase for a variety of reasons. Some say it favors one driver in particular, Jimmie Johnson, while others argue that there needs to be a road course included in... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/should_nascar_change_the_chase.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/should_nascar_change_the_chase.html Attendance Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:24:38 -0500 The NASCAR diversity disparity would make anyone wonder why there isn't a larger percentage of drivers that aren't Caucasian or male. Could it be that James Brown's song "This Is a Man's World" is the breathing image of NASCAR?" According... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/where_is_the_diversity.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/where_is_the_diversity.html Diversity Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:34:08 -0500 Many people just don't like driving in the rain, and they come up with several reasons. First of all, it is hard to see when the rain is coming down on the windshield. Second, the wet conditions of the road... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/nascar_in_a_rainy_day.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/nascar_in_a_rainy_day.html Student Posts Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:19:18 -0500 With attendance numbers steadily declining at the tracks, are corporate sponsors becoming more concerned with where their investment dollars are going or is there more than what we see at the track? This is a question that top-level executives of... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/nascars_b2b_model.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/nascars_b2b_model.html Attendance Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:13:58 -0500 With sponsors like Lowes, DuPont, Budweiser, The Home Depot, Miller Lite, Jack Daniel's, and Red Bull, NASCAR sponsors are more appeasing to the male audience versus the female audience. For the month of October some sponsors chose to put a... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/nascar_appealing_to_female_fan.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/nascar_appealing_to_female_fan.html Student Posts Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:42:19 -0500 Article on Examiner.com takes a look at NASCAR's marketing challenges and opportunities. Jon Ackley offers his perspective on some of the sport's major issues.... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/marketing_experts_on_nascars_c.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/marketing_experts_on_nascars_c.html News Links Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:30:11 -0500 NASCAR has undoubtedly become one of the biggest and most popular sports in the U.S. As NASCAR has grown in popularity in this country, the growth of its popularity has also expanded internationally. This growth raises the question of why... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/should_nascar_take_the_show_on.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/11/should_nascar_take_the_show_on.html NASCAR Leadership/Rulemaking Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:27:29 -0500 Diversity has been on e of the biggest issues in NASCAR over the years. As in the past with people trying to be equal depending on race or gender, in NASCAR too there is a big gap of diversityl. Other... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/diversity_in_nascar--or_the_la.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/diversity_in_nascar--or_the_la.html Diversity Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:06:37 -0500 As a brand new NASCAR fan, I am enjoying the array of sponsors and recognizing their specific products in stores. I can see now where the brand loyalty statistics come from because just today I saw Coke Zero in... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/what_is_going_on.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/what_is_going_on.html Sponsors Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:50:09 -0500 For those of us who are and have been dedicated NASCAR fans for years (or even decades) the question we sometimes ask is: Why is attendance declining in NASCAR? I have been wondering the same and and as a result... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/nascar_and_its_declining_atten.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/nascar_and_its_declining_atten.html Attendance Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:27:53 -0500 As drivers continue to qualify for the upcoming races, many teams are scrambling to secure sponsors to even finish out the season. With the economic downturn, many of the sponsors are rethinking contracts and wondering if NASCAR is still a... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/nascars_sponsorship_slump.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/nascars_sponsorship_slump.html Fans Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:06:21 -0500 Darren Rovell, CNBC sports business expert, asks "when does Dale Earnhardt Jr. become unmarketable?" Despite struggles on track, Dale Jr. remains No. 1 best-selling driver.... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/dale_jr_best-selling_driver.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/dale_jr_best-selling_driver.html Drivers Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:41:52 -0500 The much-anticipated NASCAR Hall of Fame is set to open in May 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina. In addition to bestowing honor upon those featured in the Hall of Fame, the 130,000 square foot hall will house a museum and... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/nascar_hall_of_fame_-_nothing.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/nascar_hall_of_fame_-_nothing.html Student Posts Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:26:05 -0500 NASCAR is one of the most famous sports besides the NFL that people like to watch on television whenever they have spare time. Surprisingly, the number of people who watch car racing on television has decreased in the past few... http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/why_has_tv_viewership_declined.html http://blog.vcu.edu/nascar/2009/10/why_has_tv_viewership_declined.html TV Ratings Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:33:59 -0500